4/30/14

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I am sharing a BEAUTIFUL Downtown Pittsburgh Maternity Session submitted by the wonderful, Amanda Brisco Photography! Only the city's natural charm and natural light was used to capture the spirit of this sweet couple and this special moment in time. With no props, just the lush green city park and beautiful urban landscape as their stage, this soon-to-be mommy and daddy are glowing as they wait the arrival of their precious new addition. Because of Mandy's photo-journalistic approach, she was able to create a collection of authentic, timeless images that will be cherished for many years to come.

4/28/14

It's painting day again here on Fawn Over Baby! Actually this is our trial run painting session I was telling you about on Saturday's post, DIY: Edible Paint Recipe For Baby. As I said previously, I've always avoided "paint projects" with Kenzie because I knew all she would be interested in doing is eating the paint or brush and/or possibly wiping paint all over the house - I know I'm such a mean mom. However, now that she is a bit older and has the concept of coloring down pat, I thought why not throw caution to the wind and let my poor paint deprived baby have some fun with a little edible paint I mixed up. Well today I had a little help from the wonderful labels and gifts company, Stuck On You to ease Me McKenzie into the new world of painting! Known for their trendy labels and tag designs, Stuck On You also offers a variety of fun-filled personalized products that any child would be thrilled to own.

Stuck On You: Kids Labels & Gifts is no stranger to Fawn Over Baby as I have partnered with them many times in the past. We love working with them and absolutely adore their kid-friendly products!

This adorable personalized Art Smock that McKenzie is wearing is just one of the many exciting items you will find when shopping at Stuck On You.com! We received this sweet pink smock just in time for her very first painting session last week. To be honest, I've come across a few art smocks that seemed flimsy, easy to pull off and probably wouldn't protect as much as I would like. This smock from Stuck On You is on an entirely different level. Made from quality cotton canvas that is thick and durable, this construction is everything you would hope for in a child size smock. It has an easy tie up back and elastic wrist cuffs allowing for maximum coverage while arms are in motion.

This high quality smock also has a front pocket to hold extra paint brushes or art supplies for easy accessibility and can be personalized with an on-trend design of choice. I chose this charming Eiffel Tower/Paris design for my little artiste!

Kenzie is only 18 months and even though she is tall for her age, I was nervous this smock might be too big for her as it is listed for children 3+. I did have to over tie a little bit in the back, however because of the elastic wrist cuffs, it fit and covered her wonderfully! I'm glad to know that it will definitely grow with her as her art abilities expand.

I wasn't lieing about having all my bases covered in case there was a paint explosion coming from our kitchen. I was pleasantly surprised though that the paint was contained to just this area. Kenzie's first order of business was to taste the different colors, just as I knew it would be. (this edible paint is a little tart as you can see, lol!)

This precious little smock is very easy to clean and machine washable! I actually just spot treated the few areas that had paint on it with water and soap and it was clean and good as new in no time! Who wants a clean smock though, right? Isn't it kind of fun seeing little reminders of art projects from the past?

Also, if you haven't tried out their Kids Designer Name Labels, they are wonderful as well! Not only can you customize them to your design and font of choice, they are a great way to keep your child's items free from the accidental switch-a-roo at school! I put these labels on all of McKenzie's sippy cups, her diaper&wipes case, etc. I also love the Name dot labels as well! I use them often to put onto McKenzie's clothes so they don't accidentally wonder off to a new home.

If you are loving what you see then I know you will love and use Stuck On You items for many years to come! If you are ready to try out their amazing products , Stuck On You is offering all Fawn Over Baby Readers FREE SHIPPING when you use code: Fawn14 at checkout!

4/26/14

Hello Again Friends! I found the most exciting edible finger-paint recipe today and I couldn't wait until next week to share it! I usually take the weekends off from blogging, however this was too much fun not to pass along while your weekend is still young!

So I admit, I'm not the most fun parent when it comes to baby and paint. All I see is a big mess and me interrupting my daughter's beautiful painting technique as I constantly swat the paint brush out of her mouth. She's 18 months and still likes to put everything in her mouth, so McKenzie has never used a paint brush until this weekend. I've seen several scenarios where you can offer your baby condiments or baby food to paint with, which are all great but I found a recipe that I happen to love from Fun At Home With Kids Blog! Mommy, Asia came up with the bright idea to mix yogurt and Kool-Aid! Yes, I know Genius! The best part is there is no sugar added, so you don't have to worry about your baby experiencing an overwhelming case of sugar rush! The colors are so vibrant and the smell of each flavor just adds to the thrill! The taste may be a little tart for your little one (because there is no sugar), however this could be a little extra entertainment for you as you watch all those cringing faces take shape as your baby samples a color or two...or three. I have to say this was definitely a hit with McKenzie and I didn't have to worry about swatting the paintbrush out of her mouth and interrupting her "taste then brush" painting technique.

So here is the wonderful, edible art worthy recipe and a few baby-in-a-diaper photos that I'm sure McKenzie will thank me for later! :)

What You Will Need:

White Yogurt- I had some banana flavored baby yogurt on hand that I used

A variety of different colored Kool-Aid Packets - $.20 at Walmart

(Not Pictured) Separate small containers to mix each color in.

Optional: Paper Plate - For Your Painting Pallet (or you could just scoop dollups of each color straight onto the paper that baby will be painting on)

Optional: Paint Brush - You could just let baby use their fingers to paint, however I wanted Kenzie to become familiar with a paint brush, since she's never used one :/

Edible Finger Paint Recipe:

Mix Together Two Spoonfuls of yogurt & one packet of Kool-Aid

That's It!

I took these photos after we already had our first trial art session. By this time she was over the paint sampling and wanted to strictly focus on her masterpiece at hand. So no paint covered lips or "cringed baby faces" captured here.

If, like me, you have a fear of baby+ paint combo, try this! It's a lot of fun and you will love seeing your baby's eyes light up with excitement at all the vibrant colors that he/she can actually taste!

4/23/14

I am so excited to celebrate my wonderful friend Shayla's Little Brave Blog Birthday this month! So far, Shayla has teamed up with an amazing group of shops and fellow bloggers to give her readers the chance to enter a giveaway each week! With this week being the last week of her month long blog birthday celebration, she is doing it up big and I'm so thrilled to be a part of it!! See below for all the fun fabulous details!

4/22/14

Hello Friends!! I am so excited to FINALLY reveal McKenzie's Nursery today! Since we moved from a smaller space in Anchorage, Alaska to a larger place here in Georgia, simply moving Kenzie's previous nursery into this much larger room left it feeling bare and uninviting. To bring her room to life, I worked to incorporate elements that she will enjoy now and several years down the road. It's been a long time in the making and I've come to terms with the fact that it will probably never fully be finished - more like a continuos work in progress. McKenzie is 18 months now and before we know it she will be transitioning into a "Big Girl" bed and I'm sure a little rearranging will have to take place then too. For now I decided to keep the same color scheme that we used in her first nursery, which can be found here and add a few fun accent pieces that I thought would transition into "Big Girl" status nicely. I used a lot of white and beige to set the stage for a calm and soothing nursery. I didn't have a huge budget so you will see that we re-used many items from her first nursery and added A LOT of DIY decor, with the help from my handyman hubby. I did find myself browsing a little nursery inspiration online as well and couldn't help but throw in a few new items that I knew Kenzie would absolutely LOVE! I am so happy with how everything turned out and I'm excited to finally share it with you today! Soooooo... without further ado, here is McKenzie's Nursery Number 2 Revealed! For Item Details & Credit List, see captions :)

I enlisted my husband to help me create this Pallet Wall to help define the little nook that conveniently fit her crib perfectly. The pallet wall adds a little touch of rustic to her girly chic theme and it pairs wonderfully with ALFRED The Deer Head from White Faux Taxidermy and the adorable Wooden Flag Letters from New Arrivals Inc.

When you walk into Kenzie's room you are met with a big bare wall to your left, so I thought these adorable triangle decals from Urban Walls would be the perfect accent to help fill it out a bit! They speak beautifully for themselves so not much else was added.

I found this amazing Alphabet Wall Art Tutorial from the blog Crafts Unleashed and thought it would perfect for this wall! You can find my tutorial here. I also added the numbers 1-2-3 on the front panel of the these storage cubes from Lowes (I just noticed I should probably switch the 2 & 3- it looks a little off, arranged this way -hmmm?)).

I searched high and low for an affordable pair of chevron curtain panels in beige and had no luck, so I decided to make them myself. I love how they turned out, however a lot of sweat and tears went into making these. Feel free to take a look at my tutorial here.

I added a fun Teepee to her corner for a cozy place to curl up with a book or to simple play pretend! I made this using a "No-Sew" technique and shared my tutorial here. Our ceilings at our last place were much higher than the ceilings here so I did modify the tutorial a little so that it would fit ok. All I did was cut the poles down to 6ft tall from the original 8ft that my tutorial calls for. Easy Peasy!

I originally wanted to put Kenzie's Chalkboard Toddler Table & Chairs below her wall collage, then decided last minute to add this cute little "Pretend Play" area with this Painted Tree Branch as a hanger for all of her dress-up clothes. We haven't acquired any dress-up pieces yet so I just hung a few items from Kenzie's closet that we love.

Well, That's All Folks! I hope you enjoyed peeking into my little McKenzie's Nursery! Feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts and/or questions, I will do my best to reply as soon as possible!

****Note****

Many photos posted are not mine. If you see a photo of yours without credit, please let me know and I will be glad to add your name. If you wish for me to remove your photos, I will be happy to do so. Thank you :)